Around the Web

January 10, 2014 at 12:03 am | Posted in Around the Web, Books, Comic Books, Dark Horse, Marvel, News, Regular Feature, Star Wars, Star Wars News | Leave a comment
Tags: daniel abraham, Gabriel Hardman, injustice gods among us, james s.a. corey, Jan Duursema, jason fry, joe corroney, john jackson miller, john ostrander, karen miller, kevin hearne, kevin j. anderson, mentats of dune, paul s. kemp, randy stradley, sam witwer, the path to power, tom taylor, ty franck

Here is this week’s Around the Web news roundup of Star Wars and beyond. Lots of featured news this week as people respond to the Marvel Star Wars license announcement.

Book News

Paul S. Kemp shares why he writes masculine stories. It’s a nice insight into the themes of his books.
Athena’s Daughters is now funded and they reached the stretch goal for the Joe Corroney cover for the companion book, Apollo’s Daughters, which will feature stories by familiar Star Wars writers such as Aaron Allston, Michael A. Stackpole and John Jackson Miller.
Want to pre-order a signed copy of Mentats of Dune by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert? Then click here.
The Tarnished Crown Book 1: The Path to Power by Karen Miller is in the editing stage and will be ready for publication later this year.

Comic News

Comic writer and artist Gabriel Hardman weighed in on 2013 and 2014 over on CBR recalling his favorite comics and what he’s looking forward to.
Tom Taylor talks a little about what’s to come with Injustice: Gods Among Us.

Dark Horse Comics News

With the big news that Disney is moving the Star Wars comic license from Dark Horse to Marvel, there’s been lots to report. StarWars.com kicked things off with their official announcement.
Dark Horse then followed up with their own response, promising one last memorable year of Star Wars comics.
Editor Randy Stradley chimed in with a thank you to the fans and an urge to give thanks to all the talented writers and artists who have worked on the Star Wars comics.
He also commented about Dark Horse’s printing plans, touching on how long they’ll have to sell their inventory of Star Wars comics and the slim likelihood of reprints this year for anything that sells out.
Comic writer John Ostrander posted on the Dark Horse forums giving his thanks to the fans.

I want to echo Randy and say what a pleasure I’ve had these 10+ years writing SW and how much I appreciate the fans and their support. I urge you to also support DH after the license has gone to Marvel; there’s a lot of good reading here. As for me, i have projects that I’m trying to launch and, yes, I’ll talk to Marvel about writing SW there. We’ll see what happens. In the meantime, there’s the last issues of DotJ coming up. Never let what’s coming destroy your enjoyment of today.

— John O

John Ostrander also wrote a column over on ComicMix covering the news, his start with Star Wars, the jump to Legacy, and how it will end with Dawn of the Jedi.
Star Wars artist Joe Corroney had some nice words to say about Dark Horse, John Ostrander and Jan Duursema.

My friends Jan Duursema and John Ostrander made a living for the last 14 years or so making some of the absolute best Star Wars comics ever produced for Dark Horse Comics. Their impact on the saga through their incredible, influential work is undeniable. Just ask George Lucas. It’s heartbreaking, but not surprising, to hear Star Wars comics will no longer be produced by Dark Horse as the line moves to Marvel Comics in 2015.

I do look forward to seeing the license flourish with Marvel and I’m excited what the future has in store for the comics as well. But usually in the giant cogs of franchise deal making and licensing it’s easy to forget or look past the talented individual creators who, through their hard work, long hours and often personal sacrifices, shepherd and make this entertainment worthwhile for all of the fans and profitable for the license holders to begin with.

Jan says they still have at least one more series in the works after Dawn of the Jedi but hopefully this won’t be her last hurrah in the comics galaxy of far, far away. I can’t imagine and personally don’t know of any other comic book artist who is a bigger and more knowledgeable Star Wars fan than her. Marvel would be so wise to bring her on board, the comics would only flourish even farther with her continued involvement. She isn’t just a penciller for these books, she is a true storyteller, helping John create these iconic, memorable characters and craft these incredible, unforgettable stories in the Star Wars universe with her deep knowledge and affection of the saga on a regular basis.

It’s not quite over yet and she will certainly not be hurting for work anytime soon, but let’s hear it for Jan and John their amazing run. Whatever the future holds for her career she still is and always will be the best Star Wars artist ever.

And here’s Jan Duursema‘s own words on the news.

By now you’ve heard the news I suspect. It’s been an amazing run and I’m sorry to see it end because it’s been a blast. Dark Horse has taken Star Wars to some bold and cool places and I’ve been honored to be along for the ride. Finishing up the final issue of Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi right now. Got a 4 issue gig over at Dark Horse to follow, but what happens after that is yet a mystery. So…here’s my website–artist for hire!

http://jduursema.wix.com/jan-duursema#!comic-book-pages/cyxu

Comic writer John Jackson Miller shared his thoughts over on his official website.
On Twitter we got some updates on how many issues the current ongoing Star Wars series would run. Brian Wood’s Star Wars will end with issue #20. Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman’s Legacy will end with issue #18 (thus two more arcs).
Then on a much more positive note, Newsarama revealed that Dark Horse will bring closure to Darth Maul’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars story arc with Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir which will be a four issue mini-series written by Jeremy Barlow.
Plus CBR has a preview of Legacy #11.

Event/Convention News

The North Texas Comic Book Show is this weekend in Dallas, TX. Star Wars artist Joe Corroney will be there.
Phoenix Comicon may be a ways off (June) but you may want to plan ahead. So far they have three of the four Empire and Rebellion authors in attendance: Kevin Hearne, Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.
Writers may want to check out the new line-up for Superstars Writing Seminars scheduled for February 6 through 8th in Colorado Springs, CO and featuring instructors such as Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta and David Farland (aka Dave Wolverton).

Fandom News

Club Jade speculates on what the Marvel news might mean for Del Rey.
Lightsaber Rattling opines their desire for an EU reboot.
Jedi News is holding a contest for a year’s subscription to Metal Hammer.
Amid the Marvel Star Wars news, one piece of overlooked news is the new process for Star Wars cosplay fan groups like the Rebel Legion and 501st Legion. RPF has the press release.

Film News

George Lucas fans can check out his student film Freiheit over on Suvudu.
The Imagineers at Disneyland have been reportedly debriefed on some details from Star Wars Episode VII in preparation for the makeover of the park.

Interviews